The Elmira College Soaring Eagles faced their sternest test to their top ranked position this past weekend as they took three of four points from ECAC West rival R.I.T. at the Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, N.Y. <\/p>\n
On Friday night, Elmira pounded the Tigers 6-1 behind senior forward Jamie Huntley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hat trick. Melanie Henshaw, Lauryn DePaul, and Lindsay Mitchell each tallied a goal for the Soaring Eagles to round out the scoring. Erica Owczarczak scored R.I.T\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lone goal of the contest in the first period to initially tie the score at one. <\/p>\n
However, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the best it got for R.I.T. on Friday as Huntley went to work putting her first goal of the night in just 2:31 into the second period. Huntley then added her other two goals in the third period to put the nail in the coffin and seal up a big win for the Soaring Eagles.<\/p>\n
Elmira head coach Greg Fargo credited Huntley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s effort on the weekend and believed she deserved every bit of it.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jamie had an outstanding individual effort,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fargo said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of our hardest working players day in and day out. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s determined to cap off a great career with a bang and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a great addition to the line-up every night.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
R.I.T. head coach Scott McDonald said it was exciting but also frustrating on witnessing Huntley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spectacular weekend.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was certainly getting tired of hearing her name on the PA,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d McDonald jokingly said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She was creating her own chances and getting her own bounces. It was certainly a very impressive performance and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very talented hockey player. It was tough being on the other side of it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Between the pipes, Allison Cubberley went the distance for Elmira picking up her fifth win of the season to improve to 5-0 on the year. Cubberley made 18 stops to pick up her third shutout of the season.<\/p>\n
Sandra Grant made 18 stops and gave up four goals on the night before being replaced by Amy Torgerson. Grant took the loss, her first of the season to drop to 2-1 on the year. <\/p>\n
On Saturday, things went a little better for R.I.T. as they used short-handed goals to battle their way back from one-goal deficits to skate to a 3-3 tie with the Soaring Eagles. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Giving up two shorthanded goals in one game is always going to be a little bit concerning,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fargo said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We had a little bit of a lack of urgency when they had possession in our defensive zone as we left the front of the net wide open on one of their goals. Special teams are a huge part of the game every night and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have kill off penalties and not give up shorthanded goals if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to keep being successful.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Once again, Jamie Huntley was the story scoring Elmira\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first two goals with one coming on a 5 on 3 opportunity in the first period and then another power play goal a little over 13 minutes into the second period to give Elmira a 2-1 lead.<\/p>\n
Dayna Birch did what she could to salvage R.I.T.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weekend. Birsch scored the Tigers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 second shorthanded goal with just under five minutes to go in the game. Neither side could put home the game winner in the remaining few minutes. After a five minute overtime they were still deadlocked as both teams left with a point when the dust settled. <\/p>\n
McDonald called Saturday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game an almost desperate game because of Friday night\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disaster.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The first night we struggled heavily and came out flat, nothing really sparked us,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d McDonald said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We were taking too many penalties and you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give a team like Elmira a power play for half the game. We came back hard on Saturday with a lot of energy and emotion and we focused on taking care of business in our end in a game we really needed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Fargo thought the Soaring Eagles were able to grab hold of the momentum in both of the games but with different results on opposite nights. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was really happy with the way we played on both nights,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fargo said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The effort was there for us and we capitalized on our chances Friday while not doing that as well Saturday. On Friday our power play moved the puck well and the bench was feeding off the energy. We got a big goal to start off the third period and I think it really took a lot of the wind out of R.I.T.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sails on Friday.<\/p>\n
On Saturday we had the momentum early but we weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t able to hold onto it as the game was back and forth for a majority of it but the flow lacked due to the number of penalties called on both sides.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Penalties marred Saturday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s game as R.I.T. committed 14 for 28 minutes and Elmira committed 13 penalties for 26 minutes. These two sides are no strangers to physical games but the whistle controlled most of the play on Saturday and not the players.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I though the officials did a great job calling the game on Friday,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fargo said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They called what needed to be called and let the players decide the game for the most part. Saturday was a different game as there wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t much flow. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to be more conscious of our penalties in the future and make some better choices.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
McDonald agreed with Fargo on the officiating.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The referees are calling certain things this year,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d McDonald said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It seems to change from night to night. It was two competitive sides battling it out and there were a lot of calls that could have been made and not made on both sides. Personally I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think there were 30 minutes of penalties in the game Saturday.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Elmira will once again face another stern test this weekend as they head to the Cardinal Classic in Plattsburgh, N.Y. where the Soaring Eagles will face third-ranked Middlebury on Friday afternoon. The winner will move on to face the winner of the Williams vs. Plattsburgh nightcap game.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Middlebury is a great team,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Fargo said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think anything changes on our end though. We need to do the same things we do to be successful. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to be excited to play the third-ranked team. Energy and effort every time we step on the ice are things we focus on in practice and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be a 60 or 65 minute battle.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
R.I.T. on the other hand will travel up to the North Country as well. However, the Tigers will be facing ECAC West foe Potsdam for a two game series that R.I.T. needs do well in. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We need to win both to keep pace with Plattsburgh, Elmira, and Utica,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d McDonald said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We need to focus and take care of business and get four points.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
This weekend features another exciting set of match-ups with none bigger than those featured in the Cardinal Classic, hosted at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh, N.Y. The top three teams in the nation will converge on Cardinal country this weekend in what will be an important early season test for every team to find out what they have and need to work on for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
It will certainly be very tough for Elmira to emerge with their number one ranking intact having to go through both Middlebury and most likely Plattsburgh on consecutive nights. This will be a chance for the whole country to see how far the Soaring Eagles have come under the direction of new head coach Greg Fargo. <\/p>\n
Plattsburgh in my opinion has to be considered the favorite since they are on home ice and will certainly be playing with a chip on their shoulder after losing to Utica a few weekends ago. The Cardinals also have the easier first round match-up but they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be caught overlooking Williams or they might get caught with their hand in the cookie jar against a team that could steal a win with the right bounces.<\/p>\n
Out west, Stevens Point and River Falls will meet in a battle of two NCHA heavyweights. River Falls has rolled through their first four games with a perfect record but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be facing their toughest test this weekend in the Pointers. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be very intrigued to see those results this weekend and the winner of the series will take the inside track to the NCHA regular season crown and a strong start to building their NCAA resume.<\/p>\n
The last series I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be keeping my eye on is one a lot of people are probably overlooking is Utica vs. Neumann. However, I feel this series is of vital importance for both teams as Utica looks to shed last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tough start to the season where they lost games they shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have and really hurt their Pool C chances. Utica split with Plattsburgh for the first time ever and then tied Potsdam in a game where Hilary Hitchman stood on her head all night to keep the Bears in the game. <\/p>\n
Neumann on the other hand continues to try and make in roads towards the powerhouse four of the ECAC West and this will be their chance this weekend. I saw the Knights in action this past weekend in Oswego and they surely can skate. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got some big playmakers on the blue-line and a very good goaltender in Mel Brunet. The Knights should definitely be competitive and give the Pioneers everything they have.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Elmira defends their No. 1 Ranking The Elmira College Soaring Eagles faced their sternest test to their top ranked position this past weekend as they took three of four points from ECAC West rival R.I.T. at the Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, N.Y. On Friday night, Elmira pounded the Tigers 6-1 behind senior forward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n